Mission, Vision, and Values

Mission 

Solar for Women empowers women through solar technical training and community-building.

Vision

In Solar for Women’s ideal future, women will lead more solar companies, women will collaborate more on solar projects and businesses, women will be in positions to hire and train more women, and girls see other women who do this work at home or as a career, and want to pursue the skills as well. More education and recruitment will target girls and women for the solar industry and trades. This includes the development of pre-apprenticeship programs that focus on women, trades school programs in solar that will see rising numbers of women students, STEM programs for younger students that focus on solar, and a larger number of instructors and trainers who are women. 

We REALLY want to see female-led companies and companies that have female crew leads, or even an all-female installation crew! We especially hope it includes seeing women of color leading and starting more companies, with the support of women (and everyone). More money and resources will move towards more women, especially women of color, to achieve this vision. 

Women who desire to work in solar will find jobs in solar that pay them as well as men and that offer respectful communication on the job. They will feel more connected and supported as they learn and as they develop into experienced professionals. It will be easy to find a woman as a mentor. 

In order to help make this happen, Solar for Women will be focusing on the following things:

 

Learning

  • We will create safe and welcoming learning environments focused on women. 

  • We will cultivate a culture of learning, sharing, collaborating, supporting, and empowering one another.

  • We will develop an expanding set of trainings and workshops, over time, both online and in-person, with emphasis on instructors and students who are women. Through these trainings, we will increase the number of women who work in solar and who have the skills to do their own small and large projects.

  • In addition to our own offerings, we will seek to partner and collaborate with others who share in our mission, vision, and values. 

  • We will talk about how race, class, and gender are all interwoven in these efforts, and while we won’t have all the answers, we want this to be ongoing, with an eye towards more access, justice, and accountability. 

 

Connecting

We will build and empower a community of women that includes curious newbies, committed learners, change-of-career seekers, skilled professionals, and others who desire to expand their technical skills in solar and connect with (and learn from) women in the process. 

  • We will develop various options for connecting, passively and actively, which may include some or all of the following: blog/newsletter, social media, various forms of storytelling, podcast, networking and training opportunities (online and in-person), conference participation and presentations, etc. We desire and hope that some of these could be carried out in collaboration or partnership with others. 

  • We will seek to create or partner on building a more robust mentorship program over time specifically for women interested in the solar trades.

  • We hope to help connect people, money, and resources to the women who want to start businesses, cooperatives, or funds tied to the goal of more women in the solar trades. 

 

Empowering

Solar for Women will inspire women to identify and accomplish their goals in solar (and life), and then support them however we can in making it happen! 

  • Our work will help women have more agency in their own lives through giving them more skills, providing access to new or different employment options, and connecting them to a network of other women. 

 

Values

  • Empowerment: Creating confident and skilled women who aren’t afraid to take action towards their goals means healthier and more resilient communities.

  • Equity: Women can and should have more access and opportunities in solar. Women are not well-represented in the solar industry, at any level, and this is even more pronounced for women of color. Understanding and helping to dismantle systems of oppression is a necessity to create access and opportunities for all women. 

  • Education: Encouraging life-long learning, curiosity, collaboration, and problem-solving for the betterment of oneself, our communities, and the solar industry as a whole is integral to our efforts. We also believe in education that allows for different perspectives and different ways of sharing knowledge. 

  • Environment: Humans and the natural world are very interconnected, and we want to find ways to help mitigate the effects of climate change, for the earth, and for ourselves. We want to create positive feedback loops through our work in solar, education, and community-building.